There was a terrorist directing murder on our streets and no other means to stop him," Cameron said.
Britain has for the first time conducted an airstrike in Syria, killing two of its own nationals suspected of fighting for Islamic State (IS), Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday, despite not having a parliamentary mandate to take military action in the country.
Britain
conducts regular attacks in neighbouring Iraq and flies drones over
Syria to gather intelligence on the hardline IS group. But unlike some
other coalition partners it does not target IS positions in Syria.
Cameron
told parliament on Monday that, as an act of self defence, one Briton
had been targeted and killed in a precision airstrike carried out by an
RAF remotely piloted aircraft in August. Two others travelling with the
man - including another Briton - were also killed.
"There
was a terrorist directing murder on our streets and no other means to
stop him," Cameron said. "We took this action because there was no
alternative."
Reyaad Khan,
the Briton targeted in the airstrike, had his assets frozen by Britain's
finance minstry last year after reports that he been involved in
terrorism-related activities in Syria.
"There was clear evidence of the individuals in question planning and directing armed attacks against the UK," Cameron said. "These were part of a series of actual and foiled attempts to attack the UK and our allies."
Cameron
said the airstrike was "entirely lawful" and the first time in modern
history that Britain has used a military asset to conduct such action in
a country it is not at war with.
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